Where do you find prohibition of eating flesh foods, drinking alcoholic drink and wearing jewellery in connection to the day of Atonement? All I could find in the law books were a command on pain of death to afflict oneself and not work.

So, looking at it your way, eat flesh and drink alcoholic beverages and wear jewellery as long as we do not work and are not happy about it.

This is from the amazing facts website:



The problem was not with being happy, but with having a divided mind. Anything that would distract the mind would not be encouraged.

Yes, afflict. What does that word mean? How do you afflict yourself? Were the medievals walking in long lines flogging eachother on to something or what?

The garb of the high priest... That would have to do with Jesus. But perhaps the idea is that we should emulate our Lord and Master?
The camp preparations, I failed to find that teaching this morning. Do you know where that is found?The maritime forum can fall into that category, at the least for some people sometimes. And working to have bread on ones dinnertable may well be such a distraction. But without bread we starve to death so thats really not a feasible option either. And not working can easily be just as much of a distraction.

The CEV translated it as "sorrow for sin."

No, I don't know where the camp preparations is found. I just looked a little bit on the net for things. I found a couple of things, and posted one of them.

Regarding distractions, there are things we can control, and things we can't. For example, we need to make a living to feed/clothe/shelter our families, and there's certainly a right thing to do. However, we needn't so overwork ourselves that we have no time or energy for spiritual matters.

Regarding eating, I'm pretty sure the DOA was a day of fasting. Obviously we can't fast full time, or we'd wither away. So instead of not eating at all, we try to eat healthfully, in a way that the mind remains clear. A similar understanding would apply to other items; i.e., we do things to keep the mind clear.

Tom, do you think it was God's will to kill sinners the other 364 days of the year? For example, God told Moses to stone to death the man caught gathering sticks on the Sabbath. Was it God's will? Or, did Moses misunderstand God's answer?

Do the laws of Moses misrepresent God's will? Do they require anything that violates the will of God? For example, the requirement to stone to death sinners. Does this violate the will of God? And, what the laws that require polygamy? Do they violate the will of God?

I've been busy lately...still am. To clarify briefly, however, on why I include #5 in the list, let me say this one is a New Testament matter.

Jesus said it is harder for a rich man to enter Heaven than for a camel to go through the eye of a needle. Revelation speaks of "being rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing." James chapter 5 goes so far as to say "Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your misery that shall come upon you..." and continues to list the sins laid up to their account for the judgment. And, finally, Jesus gave express command to His disciples: "Take nothing for your journey, neither staves, nor scrip, neither bread, neither money; neither have two coats apiece." (Luke 9:3, KJV) One might also recall the counsel He gave to the rich young ruler.

Therefore, it may be reasonably concluded that a life of simplicity, and not of material gain, is the spiritual goal of Christ's followers. The sinfulness of wealth is implied, but not expressly stated, just as with that of meat-eating, killing, use of alcohol, polygamy, etc. These are each "sins" which are not specifically named as sins in the Bible. They are simply portrayed in their true light as being below the ideal for God's people.

Regarding the quail, David spoke of this.

"They soon forgat his works; they waited not for his counsel: But lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, and tempted God in the desert. And he gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul." (Psalms 106:13-15, KJV)

Blessings,

Green Cochoa

MM, killing is not God's will. That should be clear by considering:

a.What God is like.
b.How Jesus lived.

God did not intend that the Israelites establish a community founded on violence. For example, He said that He would fight their battles for them. Had they allowed Him to do that, no Israelite would have died. But they chose to gather up swords and fight their own battles, which led to much suffering and death.

God had to work with the community as it existed, so it included Him giving counsel that was not according to His ideal will. For example, He gave counsel in regards to divorce and polygamy.

God's ideal will was expressed in Jesus Christ. From Him we learn the truth about polygamy, divorce, killing, whatever.

The things you list are not of the same order.

a.Killing is explicitly stated as being a sin.
b.Meat-eating is not even implied as being a sin.
c.You may be right regarding alcohol (implicit).
d.One could say polygamy is an implicit sin, since it doesn't say anywhere "Thou shalt not commit polygamy," but based on Jesus' teaching, it's pretty easy to connect the dots.
e.There is nothing wrong with being wealthy.

I certainly agree that the overriding goal of one's life should not be to become wealthy, but one can become wealthy in many ways. If one owns a business, the business can prosper. If one owns stocks, the stocks can multiply in value. One can inherit money. One can be promoted for being a good worker. Etc.

Daniel was rewarded for his service to God. He was the third in the kingdom. I'm sure he was very wealthy. Yet not one sin is recorded in regards to Daniel. It seems very difficult to make the argument that Daniel was somehow sinful because of his wealth. How would one argue this?

Similarly Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and many others were wealthy. They were wealthy because God blessed them.

I'm focusing on this one point because it is quite surprising to me to see it on a list with killing.

Ok, we've gotten off the topic question again (which is fine, I don't mind discussing whatever comes up, but I'm still interested in the topic question).

Given that polygamy is a sin, what commandment does it violate? That it is a sin can be established from the spirit of prophecy:



If one wishes to discuss the question, "Is polygamy a sin according to the Bible"? we can open a topic to discuss that. However, this topic assumes that polygamy is a sin, and is asking if, given it is a sin, does it violate the seventh commandment.